*********************************************************
The following is issued on behalf of the Committee on Home-School Co-operation:
According to the findings of a research conducted by the Committee on Home-School Co-operation (CHSC), the majority of parents, students and teachers in Hong Kong are aware of what homework is about in their children's learning. It was also encouraging to note parents' willingness to assist directly or indirectly in their children's homework.
The research also revealed that there was no positive correlation between students' academic achievement and the time they spent on homework. And academics warned about students losing their interest in learning should they be made to spend excessive time on homework and supplementary exercise.
Dr. Sandra Tsang Kit-man, the convenor of the CHSC Working Group on Home-School Information, said at the press briefing today (December 22) that parents in Hong Kong were very concerned about their children's homework. Therefore, the CHSC commissioned the Hong Kong Baptist University to conduct a research entitled "Parental Involvement in Homework of Primary School Students" between February and June this year to examine the perception and expectation of functions of homework on the part of primary school students, their parents and teachers.
"The research covered 2,442 students, 1,499 parents and 327 teachers who came from 72 classes of 36 participating schools (including government, aided, Direct Subsidy Scheme and private ones). Focus group and individual interviews were conducted in order to obtain an in-depth understanding on the views of the participants. On the other hand, quantitative data were collected from a large-scale questionnaire survey.
The survey showed that on average, primary school students in Hong Kong were assigned six pieces of homework everyday. While junior primary students spent close to two hours everyday completing their assignments, their senior counterparts spent about one-and-a-half hours. There was no positive correlation between students' time spent on homework and their academic achievement. Students with better academic achievement tended to spend less time on homework.
The following findings were also observed:
1. The majority of primary school students chose their parents as their most preferred source of support for homework; and both parents and teachers recognised the importance of parental support in children's homework. When students felt that their parents were capable of assisting them with their homework, they would have positive views about the functions of homework.
2. Regarding the nature of homework, both parents and teachers had the consensus that homework involving analytical thinking was the most important. However, parents expected homework to match their children's capability so that they could complete it by themselves. Teachers, on the other hand, considered that homework should be pitched at a suitable level, and that part of the assignment should entail further exploration by the students This showed that there was a disparity between parents' and teachers' expectations.
3. How parents were involved in their children's homework depended on the different stages of their children's development. Parents of junior primary students tended to provide direct support more often whilst those with senior primary students would encourage their children to do homework independently.
Speaking on the research findings, Professor Wong Po-choi, the CHSC Chairman, pointed out that homework served two important goals. Firstly, it enabled children to consolidate their learning, and develop their analytical and cognitive skills. Secondly, children could learn to shoulder their responsibility by completing an appropriate amount of homework every day, thereby building their confidence and abilities to manage their own businesses.
He continued, "Excessive and overly difficult homework is undesirable. It renders doing homework meaningless because it could easily end up in parents or private tutors completing the homework on behalf of the children. In particular, themes of project learning should not be too vague nor too abstract to avoid leaving students helpless and resorting to their parents to finish the projects for them."
Prof. Wong also suggested that teachers and parents should know more about the functions of homework. Homework of moderate difficulty could be a challenge to students and stimulate them to think in a more in-depth manner. Instead of providing instant answers to their children when they encountered problems, parents should help them understand the problems and think about how to find out the solutions themselves. In addition, parents should also encourage their children to approach their teachers and classmates for assistance.
He concluded, "In essence, parents need not expect that their children can complete their homework without making any mistake. Homework is a means to help consolidate learning, build up children's confidence and their sense of responsibility. Furthermore, if schools can help parents to have a better understanding of what is expected of their children's homework, including the time required, parents will not exert undue stress on their children."
The executive summary of the research on "Parental Involvement in Homework of Primary School Students" can be accessed on the website of the Committee on Home-School Co-operation (http://embhsc.hkedcity.net).
Ends/Thursday, December 22, 2005
Issued at HKT 15:55
NNNN